What professionals want in the law to police the Web

Governments have over the last three decades tied themselves up in knots trying to figure out how to police the Web.

For a long time, the Internet’s democratic and largely anonymous nature made it possible for both crusaders and criminals to hide. Additionally, any attempt to police the Web has been dogged by fears that the freedoms of expression and access to information—as guaranteed in the Constitution of Kenya — may be sacrificed.

Kenya has been trying to put in place legislation to punish computer and cybercrimes for over two years.

The latest incarnation of these attempts is the Computer and Cybercrimes Bill 2017, which is set for parliamentary debate. Earlier versions of the bill had been criticised by human rights and free speech organisations.

The window for public input closed last week and one of the organisations that made its submissions was the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANET), a grouping of professionals and civil service representatives that has pioneered reform in Kenya’s technology sector. KICTANET proposed to Parliament what should be added and removed from the bill.

Digital Business explores some here.

Privacy

The Computer and Cyber Crimes bill has been widely panned for its potential to open the doors for the government to spy on citizens on a whim.

The bill, as submitted to Parliament, proposes that police should be allowed to take possession of computers, demand subscriber information from telecom companies and even tap phone calls without a warrant if they believe that the law is being broken.

But KICTANET has proposed excising most of these provisions from the bill saying that they are unconstitutional. It should be explicitly stated that the right to privacy can only be limited, for a person under investigation, by a court warrant, the body says.

Fake News

Fake news has become a headline issue over the last two years.

One study showed that 90 per cent of Kenyans had viewed fake news during the elections last year.

The bill proposes stipulating a punishment of up to Sh5 million and imprisonment for up to two years for anyone who “intentionally publishes false, misleading or fictitious data”.

However, KICTANET says this breaches rights to “freedom of expression and opinion granted under the Constitution”.

READ: Kenyan firms risk higher cybercrime

Sexual exploitation of minors

While the bill stipulates fines of up to Sh20 million and imprisonment for up to 25 years for anyone who produces, publishes or possesses child pornography, the professionals want the the provision deleted, saying that this is already addressed by the Sexual Offences Act.

Revenge pornography

In 2016, the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division ordered a man to pay Sh1 million for sharing his ex-girlfriend’s nude photograph’s without consent.

This is perhaps the most high profile case of revenge pornography that has been handled by the local judicial system. 

Revenge porn refers to publishing or sharing sexually explicit images of someone without that person’s consent.

Under the KICTANET proposals, anyone doing this should face three years in prison or a fine of up to Sh3 million.

Identity Theft

Last year the Kenya Bankers Association raised the alarm on identity theft saying that fraudsters were on the prowl.

KICTANET proposes that people who “fraudulently” take up the “electronic signature, passwords and means of identification” of another person should be fined up to Sh10 million and face a prison term of up to 10 years.